UNREQUITED LOVE

CHAPTER 7

The silence of the room was unnerving.  After Yonghwa took his leave hastily, Seohyun could not move from the door. She dropped herself on the floor.

She was still too stunned and unable to neither believe nor understand why Yonghwa would do something as inappropriate as to kissing her.

“Why did he do . . . that?” Seohyun thought as she held her kiss-swollen lips. 

RING RING RING.

She abruptly got her senses back after a few rings from her phone.

“Hyun? Hyun? Are you there?”

“Moooom.” Seohyun said and a tear dropped from her eyes without knowing why.

“Hyun? Are you ok? Why are you crying? I heard you got sent to the clinic.”

“Yea, how did you-” she sobbed and continued saying,

“how did you know?” and wiped her tears but it just kept on coming.

“Our informant told us. Hyun, please stop crying.” Her mom said compassionately.

“Moooooom, I- I just, I just miss you a lot.” Seohyun hesitated if she would tell her mom that she has already been kissed as early as today ever since she came to Shibuya and decided not to.

“Your dad and I are going to visit you soon, dad just have some business overseas right now. Have you eaten well?”

“Uh, yea.” She lied.

“Where are you right now?”

“I’m on my way to out of the clinic mom.”

“Honey, I know that living on your own is hard. But your father and I are doing this for a reason. Always remember that we are always here for you when life gets complicated.”

“I know mom. Thanks.” Seohyun sighed and thought,

“You don’t have any idea how complicated my life has already become mom.”

“Ok honey, I’ll call again tomorrow. Love you.”

“Love you too mom.”

IT was already dismissal period when Seohyun went out of the clinic. Students were running around noisily, laughing and saying their goodbyes as some of them started to go home.

Seohyun watched them from the window; the classrooms and the hallway, now empty and silent

. Seohyun did not notice that somebody was watching her, hiding. It was Yonghwa.

She continued to walk, still thinking about how her life had changed and Yonghwa,

“Yonghwa. Yonghwa. I don’t know what to think anymore. How should I act if..”

“Seohyun!” Seohyun looked back and saw Hyoyeon and Sooyoung.

“Huh?”

 “You’re here. We looked for you in the clinic but nobody was there.” Hyoyeon said as Sooyoung and her approached Seohyun.

“Yeah. We asked Mr. Park where you were and he said that you were with Yonghwa awhile ago.” Sooyoung also added.

“But we don’t see any Yonghwa around.” Hyoyeon said, looking around to see if Yonghwa was also there. At that moment, yonghwa left, careful not to be seen by anyone there.

Seohyun blushed with the mention of Yonghwa’s name.

“Oh? Did something happen?” Hyoyeon asked and continued.

“Well, you’ll have to tell us as we walk to your home.” She grabbed Sooyoung and Seohyun’s arms and lead the way.

“Walk home?” Seohyun asked.

“Yeah! We’re going to your apartment Seohyun and we’ll cook food for you! We heard that the reason you fainted awhile ago was because you haven’t eaten anything since yesterday.” Sooyoung said, trying to act like a strict teacher who caught Seohyun not doing what she was told and laughed.

Then the three of them laughed together while walking hand in hand to Seohyun’s apartment.

“Don’t worry, Sooyoung is a good cook you know.” Hyoyeon said.

As the three of them got to the gates of Seisho High, a tall dark haired guy came to them.

“Doojoon!” Hyoyeon shouted and ran to him.

“Hi Doojoon.” Sooyoung said as he started walking with them.

“Ah. Babe, this is Seohyun. She’s very pretty right? She’s our new bestfriend.” Hyoyeon introduced Seohyun to Doojoon.

Seohyun got surprised when she heard Hyoyeon said the word bestfriend. Sooyoung noticed her reaction and whispered in her ear,

“Yeah. You’re our new bestfriend.” And smiled.

Seohyun smiled at her while the two of them walked together while Doojoon and Hyoyeon followed them.

“I’m Seo Joo Hyun. Nice to meet you.” Seohyun addressed Doojoon.

“Hi!” Doojoon replied with a huge grin on his face.

“You don’t have to be formal with me you know.” He added, still smiling.

“Oh, okay.” Seohyun replied.

“Hey babe, I left something in the department store, do you mind if we go there to pick it up first? Uhm, Seohyun and Sooyoung can go ahead.” He told Hyoyeon.

Hyoyeon looked at Sooyoung and Seohyun, then asked.

“What do you think?”

“We’ll go to the department store with you. We’ll buy something to cook too.” Sooyoung answered.

“That’s great!” Hyoyeon said happily, while Seohyun just smiled and agreed.

IN THE DEPARTMENT STORE

As they walk through the grocery;

“Doojoon works part time here Hyun, he’s a musician just like Yonghwa. He’s older than us actually” Hyoyeon said to Seohyun.

“Oh yeah. You haven’t read my note about Yonghwa right?”

“Uhm, really, there’s no need.” Seohyun insisted.

“Who? Yonghwa you say? Why do you ask about him? He actually works here too,” Doojoon inserted and before Seohyun could reply, he walked away, trying to look for Yonghwa.

By the time they came,

“Babe.” Doojoon said and placed his arm on Hyoyeon’s back and continued,

“We exchanged shifts with Yonghwa awhile ago. But here he is. I told him that a ‘customer’ needs his help” Doojoon said with a mischievous grin.

Hyoyeon simply laughed and Sooyoung couldn’t help but smile too.

Yonghwa looked at Seohyun and the other three, and then back to Seohyun again,

“Do you need anything?” Yonghwa asked indifferently. Seohyun looked down, unable to look him in the eyes again.

“Did our kiss really happen? I must have been dreaming or something. He doesn’t seem to act or show that he was even in the clinic.” Seohyun thought.

“We’re looking for some ingredients to cook. Could you show us where we can find it?” Sooyoung inserted.

“Sure. Follow me.” Yonghwa answered. Sooyoung took Seohyun’s hands and said,

“Come on.” And she smiled.

During the entire time that they were in the grocery, Seohyun remained very silent, simply following them wherever they went. Hyoyeon and Doojoon often asks her if she was fine and she would simply nod and smile.

Sooyoung was busy talking to Yonghwa about the ingredients that they’re going to buy. Then they left and went to Seohyun’s apartment.

REACHING SEPHYUN’s APARTMENT

“Wow. Your apartment is big Hyun.” Hyoyeon said with wide eyes.

“Uhm, thanks. Come in. I’m sorry if it’s such a mess.” Seohyun said as she grabbed some of her clothes left this morning.

“You actually live here too? Yonghwa and I live on the next floor. Believe me, compared to Yong’s room and mine, this is far from what we call mess.” Doojoon said looking at her place.

 “I’ll place this in the kitchen Seohyun.” Sooyoung said and directly headed to the kitchen.

Hyoyeon and Doojoon busied themselves in preparing the table while Sooyoung took most of the control in the kitchen and Seohyun helped.

“Do you cook Seohyun?” Sooyoung asked while washing the vegetables.

“No actually.” Seohyun said with an apologetic smile.

“Oh I can teach you!” Sooyoung said enthusiastically.

“Where did you learn to cook Sooyoung?” Seohyun asked, trying to make small talks.

“I lived separately from my family at an early age, that’s why I had to learn to cook for myself. Or else I would go fainting around in class, just like what happened to you.” Sooyoung smiled while talking.

“I . . I really did not think about eating this morning. I was very nervous and I really forgot about it.”

“You should never skip meals Hyun, it’s bad for the health.” Sooyoung said and they both laughed.

 “Uhm, if it’s okay to ask, I read in Hyoyeon’s note earlier about your dad and-” Sooyoung’s face turned guarded the moment Seohyun mentioned about her father, so she tried a different approach and asked,

“You said you live separate from your family, where are they now?” Sooyoung stopped washing and looked at her with a sigh and a smile.

“Since you asked about my father first, I’ll tell you about it and how it relates to my family.” Seohyun listened attentively.

Sooyoung resumed to turning on the stove to heat water and continued saying,

“My mom and my dad had me when they were still young. They didn’t marry and instead tried to live in together. I had a twin, as far as I can remember, but I was two or three back then. I did not understand why my parents always fight each other. There are times they would accidentally hit me whenever I try to get in between their fights. My dad, he loved to fight. He usually ends up in jail and then gets out after a few days. One day, I found out that my dad sold my twin to a foreign couple for adoption.”

Sooyoung paused, looking distant and then continued.

“I cried a lot after that, but my dad, he didn’t care. As long as he had the money, that’s everything he cared about. My mom worked for us. Then she met this guy in her office and they eventually had a relationship. They kept it from my dad, of course. It was easy to keep since my dad was barely around. The new guy was really nice, and I thought ‘mom have finally found someone good enough for her’. The new guy also treats me right. Then my dad found out what happened and he tried to kill the new guy. He went to jail after that and was sentenced a life time in prison. My mom and the new guy got married. I have three younger sisters.”

Sooyoung smiled at the thought of them.

“We were really close but my mom had an illness and she died when I was in junior high. When she died, everything changed. Not that they mistreated me or something. Actually, I thought, I was the one who has a problem. I was still in junior high back then and my younger sisters were also still studying. Life was difficult sending all four of us to school and then I felt that I don’t have the right anymore.” She paused again and looked at Seohyun, hoping she understand what she meant.

And by some mental note, Seohyun understood.

“I understand what you mean. Is that why you separated from them? To lessen your step father’s burden, thinking that you’re not his biological daughter and he has no responsibility over you?”

“Yes.” Sooyoung answered with and ironic smile on her face.

“Sooyoung, I-I don’t know what to say. The love of a father, it’s not measured whether you’re a biological daughter or not, as long as he loves you like his own, he’s a father to you.”

“I know, but I love them too much to see them suffer, that’s why I left.” Sooyoung smiled.

“But I call them once in a while. Nothing’s really changed between us.” Then both of them took deep breaths and smiled at each other.

They cooked silently, communicating with each other without saying anything.

“Right now, I think Sooyoung and I have become closer.” Seohyun thought.

When supper was served, they all ate on Seohyun’s kitchen table.

 “WOW!! You really know how to cook Sooyoung!” Hyoyeon shouted and gave some beef to Doojoon.

“Yah! Stop giving each other food and sharing one spoon! It’s so cheesy!” Sooyoung said and laughed.

Doojoon also grinned and looked at Seohyun who was also laughing modestly.

“Hey Seohyun, what’s the deal between you and Yong? I’ve never seen Yong treat someone as cold as he treated you awhile ago.” Doojoon asked Seohyun.

 “Yea! What’s wrong with him? I know he’s cold but Seohyun did not even do anything to him, Why treat her that way?” Hyoyeon also agreed.

Talking about Yonghwa made Seohyun blushed furiously.

“Hey, do you like him?” Doojoon asked. Seohyun’s eyes grew bigger and Doojoon laughed.

“Babe! Don’t tease Seohyun!!” Hyoyeon shouted.

“Uhm, I-I can’t-” Seohyun stammered

“Hey, don’t sweat it. It’s ok. A lot of girls like him too. But Sooyoung here . . .” the three of them looked at Sooyoung, Seohyun having a confused look.

“What?” Sooyoung asked.

“Well, since the two of you became Mr. and Miss Shibuya, I just thought, oh forget it.”

“Yah! Doojoon!” Hyoyeon scolded Doojoon.

“Don’t mind him Hyun, there’s really nothing between Sooyoung and Yonghwa.” Sooyoung looked at Seohyun and said,

“Yeah, she’s right.”

“Besides, Sooyoung likes Siwon but she can’t even accept the man because he’s rich! I mean, what kind of crazy reason is that?” Hyoyeon tried to quickly change the subject.

AS SOON AS THEY FINISHED DINNER

“Thank you for the meal Hyun!” Hyoyeon said and hugged Seohyun.

“Yeah, thank you! Oh and I cooked side dishes for you too. I placed it in your ref. So you don’t have any reason to skip meals anymore, understood?” Sooyoung also said and hugged her.

“I understand.” Seohyun replied with a smile.

“I guess we better get going then?” Doojoon added and Hyoyeon looked at him with a puzzled look.

“What do you mean ‘we’?”

 “I’ll walk you to your house. We’ll drop Sooyoung in her apartment first. You know, times like this, you need a man to protect you. The streets are dangerous.” Doojoon answered.

“Awwww, that’s so sweet!” Hyoyeon simply answered.

“Ah. I’ll walk you out of the building.” Seohyun said, not wanting to see them leave so early.

As they reached the first floor, they saw Yonghwa coming in from work.

“Oh, Yong!” Doojoon called him.

“Yea?” He asked.

“I’ll be taking Hyoyeon and Sooyoung home. Don’t wait up.”

“Okay.” He said and started walking.

“Hey!” Doojoon called again.

“Do you mind waiting for us to leave? You haven’t even greeted the girls.”

“Hi Yonghwa.” Hyoyeon and Sooyoung said in unison and smiled. Seohyun simply bowed and looked at the ground.

“Hi.” He said looking cool with his hands tucked in his pockets.

“Hurry up and leave, it’s getting cold out.” He continued saying.

“Okay. I’ll see you later.” Doojoon said.

“Okay.” Yonghwa replied nonchalantly as Doojoon, Hyoyeon and Sooyoung left.

When they were out of sight, he turned to Seohyun and said,

“Let’s go in. It’s cold out here.”

“Uh, yea.” Seohyun replied and followed him.

The walk on the stairs to the third floor was extremely silent and awkward.

When they reached Seohyun’s room, Yonghwa simply walked away without saying anything.

“Uhm, Yonghwa.” Seohyun said nervously. Yonghwa did not look back to Seoohyun but only said,

“Don’t worry. I won’t tell anyone about our kiss.” Seohyun’s eyes grew big upon hearing his words. Then he walked and paused again, this time he looked back and said.

“I’m sorry if I scared you when I did that. But I’m glad I did it.” Then he continued walking with a smirk on his face.

Author's Note: I hope you like it and I hope you got hints about Yonghwa and Sooyoung's past :))) Comments are very much appreciated. And please subscribe if you want -.- :** Thank You!!!